Deadline: September 15th, 2023
Payment: US 4¢/word rounded up to nearest dollar; minimum US $4, maximum $25
Theme: poems inspired by Food and feasting

Eye to the Telescope 50, Food & Feasting, will be edited by Claire McNerney.

Food is the essential connector, it links people to their identities and to each other. It fuels us, allows us to dream. In the realms of fae, it’s a curse. What might food look like in other words? Taste like? Feel like? What might it do to people? How might someone’s relationship with food be impacted by the way that it’s made? Don’t be afraid to delve into detail, no matter how disgusting.

As for feasting—is it a celebration or a crime? Who does the feasting? What prestige do certain items of food have? Delicacies aren’t always delicate. In the far future, would people even eat? If not, what might feasting look like for them? I’m interested in works that explore all aspects of food and feasting, from production to consumption, from culture to detachment, from ecstasy to shame. Don’t be afraid to explore form & new forms, but I admire emotional and imaginative potency above all.

Submission Guidelines

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

• Use the form at  to submit.
• Please submit 1–3 unpublished poems in English (ideally, attached as .docx or .txt) and include a short bio. Translations from other languages are acceptable with the permission of the original poet (unless public domain).
• Inquiries only to [email protected] with “ETTT” in the subject line.
• Deadline: September 15. The issue will appear on October 15, 2023.

Payment and rights

• Accepted poems will be paid for at the following rate: US 4¢/word rounded up to nearest dollar; minimum US $4, maximum $25. Payment is on publication.
• The Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association normally uses PayPal to pay poets, but can also send checks.
• Eye to the Telescope is an online publication. Therefore, First Electronic Rights (for original unpublished poems) are being sought.

Who can submit?

Any human writing speculative poetry. Please no AI-generated works or AI-human collaborations.

What is Speculative Poetry?

Speculative poetry is poetry which falls within the genres of science fiction, fantasy, and supernatural horror, plus some related genres such as magic realism, metafiction, and fabulation. It is not easy to give precise definitions, partly because many of these genres are framed in term of fiction rather than poetry.

A good starting point is “About Science Fiction Poetry” by Suzette Haden Elgin, the founder of the Science Fiction Poetry Association. Despite its title, this article is applicable to all forms of speculative poetry.

Tim Jones, editor of Issue 2, had a go at defining science fiction poetry on his blog, in two parts (These blog posts date from 2009, and the Voyagers anthology has since been published. These posts do refer specifically to science fiction poetry, rather than the broader field of speculative poetry.):

timjonesbooks.co.nz/2009/02/08/what-is-science-fiction-poetry-part-1-definition/

.timjonesbooks.co.nz/2009/02/15/what-is-science-fiction-poetry-part-2-history/

What Is the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association (SFPA)?

As the SFPA says on its website at sfpoetry.com, “The Science Fiction Poetry Association was founded in 1978 to bring together poets and readers interested in science fiction poetry. What is sf poetry? You know what they say about definitions—everybody has one. To be sure, it is poetry (we’ll leave that definition to you), but it’s poetry with some element of speculation—usually science fiction, fantasy, or horror. Some folks include surrealism, some straight science.”

See the SFPA site for lots more information—and please consider joining.

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Interested in editing an issue of Eye to the Telescope? See the Editors’ Guidelines for information and requirements.

Via: Eye to the Telescope Magazine.